Bird Watching: Bluebirds - Spring 2012 - part 2, 0 by 2dCousinDave

2dCousinDave wrote:
My birds do roost in the nest boxes when it is cold. I mean below 10 degrees cold and especially if it is windy. That doesn't happen very often here but I saw as many as three bluebirds huddled together in a box for three or four nights in a row last Winter. I leave the nest cam on 24/7 or I would never have known they were in there. I have seen them go into the box to check it out during the day but I have never seen one enter or leave at night.. They slip in after dusk and leave at first light.

I have many friends further North who are bluebird hosts who report that bluebirds (and other birds too--notably Downy woodpeckers) frequently nest in their boxes, especially on very cold nights.

It is not unusual for bluebirds to be checking out potential nesting sites. They do it constantly during the off season and usually will claim and defend several favorite sites. I have three boxes up and my adult pair check and defend all three every day. In the common area behind our house there is a dead tree with an abandoned woodpecker hole and the bluebirds constantly argue as to who will nest there but the hole is quite large, so every Spring the Starlings chase the blues away and they nest there. Many bluebirds are desperate for nesting sites. That is why we see them nest in mailboxes and drain pipes. Here in Fredericksburg we have several Civil War Battlefields. I have seen bluebirds nest deep in cannon barrels. The last shot below is in our neighbor's newspaper box last July.. Such unprotected sites often lead to unsuccessful nestings, but this one was successful..

This message was edited Nov 24, 2012 9:00 AM